The Atlantic

Progressives Warn of a Great Deflation

The left is more energized than ever. So what happens if Joe Biden is the nominee?
Source: ROBYN BECK / Getty / nito / shutterstock / The Atlantic

“Please don’t make me vote for Joe Biden!” a flock of teenagers pleaded in a series of videos posted to the social-media app TikTok earlier this month.

But as the Iowa caucuses draw closer, a Biden nomination is looking more likely by the day. Lefty groups are worried—and warning that a Biden win could crush the activist enthusiasm they’re counting on to win in November.

The thousands of Americans who wait for hours in line to snap a photo with Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts or who for Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont simply will not be as enthusiastic about the former vice president, leaders at nine progressive organizations, all of which are involved with organizing and get-out-the-vote efforts, told me in interviews this month. “I can’t imagine having Biden on the ticket is going to be the thing that energizes these folks to

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